Half of Chinese farmers don’t want to leave the land and move to the city

Of those polled, 51 percent showed an interest in moving, but only 11.83 percent indicated a high interest.

The remaining 49 percent said they do not want to leave their rural hometowns for a variety of reasons. According the report, the top five reasons were ageing, a lack of skills, the unwillingness to leave farming behind, unfamiliarity with cities, and having no one to take care of their children or parents.

In China’s 13th Five-year Plan, it aimed to increase its urbanization rate from 56.1 percent in 2015 to 60 percent by 2020. But, statistics show that the growth rate of migrant workers is falling year by year, from 5 percent in the past to 0.4 percent in 2015.

“I think we should respect the farmers’ own will. In my opinion, urbanization is not merely about the migration of people to the big cities,” Deng Daping, dean at Central China Normal University, said.

Einar Tangen discusses China’s reserve urbanization

To discuss more on China’s reverse urbanization and farmers not moving to the cities, Michelle Makori spoke with current affairs commentator Einar Tangen.

Einar Tangen discusses China\'s reserve urbanization

Einar Tangen discusses China\'s reserve urbanization

To discuss more on China's reverse urbanization and farmers not moving to the cities, Michelle Makori spoke with current affairs commentator Einar Tangen.